


Used To Be

by GuillotineChaos



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marauders Era - Fandom
Genre: Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Multi, Peter Pettigrew-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:54:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29334132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GuillotineChaos/pseuds/GuillotineChaos
Summary: Some core moments in Peter Pettigrew's teenage years.Peter is not sure why he is part of the Marauders (that was their group name - ridiculous, he had thought, but it had started warming up to him).
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Peter Pettigrew & James Potter, Remus Lupin & James Potter, Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black & James Potter, Sirius Black & Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. James Potter & Apologies

**Author's Note:**

> peter's friendship with the other marauders is overlooked and i do not like it. stay tuned for the last chapter though, there is a surprise.

Peter was scared, to say the least. Although he had been practically glowing all week, just by thinking about his first year in Hogwarts, he now had second thoughts. Maybe he should be homeschooled. It couldn't be that bad, he thought. He would walk around in his pyjamas all day and eat whenever he felt like it. He probably could not do that in his new school.

Peter hated school. Right now, he thought as he heard the Hogwarts Express's engine start, he hated everything.

"Can I sit here?" he heard a soft voice and he jumped. He hadn't heard the brown skinned boy open the carriage door, because he was too busy thinking about life and being miserable. He stared at him, not really knowing how to answer. The boy was at least a head taller than him _(and Peter did not like tall people. He just could not understand them)_ and he wore fine clothes that seemed like they would cost a fortune if they weren't all wrinkly and messed up. Suddenly, he felt insecure about his good brown sweater. Would all of his classmate be rich? 

"I suppose that is a yes then," the boy muttered and close the door behind him. He immediately left his baggages hit the floor and gave him his hand. "I'm James Potter by the way."

He shook it, trying to seem like he was not feeling nauseous already. If that was too much social interaction for him, he didn't want to imagine how the rest of his school years would be like. "I'm Peter and I'm sorry."

"For what?" James asked curiously while cleaning his round glasses on his shirt. "If anything, I should be sorry. I should have asked if you were expecting any people, but I thought that since you're a first year as well..."

"Don't worry about that, I have no friends."

The two stared at each other for a second and they burst out laughing, Peter more out a nervous reaction. 

That boy, James, had such a loud and obnoxious laugh that could probably be heard from the platform. That somehow made him relax a little bit and feel more comfortable with sharing the carriage. He took out of his jacket pockets two bars of chocolate. It was a habit of his to carry sweets everywhere he went, in case he had no one to talk to and wanted to entertain himself. 

"Want one?" he asked James shyly. He was nervous that the conversation between them would end and the rest of the ride would be awkwardly silent. That Potter bloke seemed nice enough and Peter thought it would be nice to have a friendly face around school, in case anything bad happened. 

James nodded in excitement and Peter threw the bar at him, which he catched easily. "What kind of brand is that? I've never seen it before" he asked and that was when the short chubby boy realised he messed up. 

"O-Oh, it's a... muggle chocolate." How didn't he realise that the boy sitting in front of him was a pureblood? "Uh, sorry."

James didn't seem angry or offended that he was offered something of muggle origins. He just seemed genuinely curious. "Why are you apologizing?"

"My, uh, dad told me there are some pureblood wizards that don't really like muggles or anything related to them. I am not a muggleborn though. I mean I am half."

"Well, I am not one of those people" James said in a serious face. "In fact, this chocolate seems delicious." Determined to prove his point, he unwrapped it and took a big bite of it. "See? It's good, I like it" he grinned.

Peter hid a proud smile. "Alright then. I'm sorry-"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake Peter! You don't need to apologize in every sentence."

If Peter was not hot from embarassment and the warm temperature of the train, he was now. He probably was as red as a tomato by now. "Okay."

"Sooo..." James ignored his sudden awkwardness. "What house do you think you'll be sorted in? I hope I get in Gryffindor. My father says it's the coolest out of the four. Of course, he was one, so he is probably biased."

Peter had no idea what each house represented, since his mother hadn't cared to explain it to him, but he didn't feel like explaining that to Mr Fancy Pants. "Yeah, its Gryffindor for me too," he shrugged. 

James practically beamed at that. "Can you imagine how cool it will be if we both get sorted in the same house?"

His enthusiasm was contagious and Peter smiled in spite of himself.


	2. Sirius Black In Red

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i apologize for any errors, english isnt my first language

The Sorting Ceremony started and Peter realised that James still had not left his side, even though he had every chance to.

All the first years were together, most of them filled with anxiety. It was kind of comforting to see that he was not the only one, especially since his new friend seemed to be very confident. Peter looked around - of course, he knew no one, but he still wondered how many of them were as clueless as him. James had given him a brief summary over the houses, despite the obvious favouritism towards Gryffindor. Peter had realised there was no way in hell he would be sorted in the red house. He was not particularly brave or chivalrous but he wasn't that smart either so Ravenclaw was probably out of question too. Ambition was definitely not his thing or pride. He would like to think he was kind and hard working but he also despised the colour yellow. He wondered if there could be a house for the insecure, socially anxious compulsive eaters. He'd be alone in that though, because everyone seemed to have something going on for them... except for him obviously.

He realised he had missed the whole speech and the Sorting Hat's song when it was too late. A woman with green robes, thin glasses and a loud voice was calling people's names. If James had not pushed him when it was their turn, Peter would have missed it and embarassed himself again.

The professor, whose name was apparently McGonagall, put the Hat on his head and Peter immediately felt like throwing up, trying not to think whether that Hat had ever been washed. Last thing he needed was to catch lice.

_"Well, young man, I think you're quite easy to sort. You have a lot of potential to be a brilliant wizard, although you do not realise it. I believe Ravenclaw is the house for you."_

"No, I am not smart. I- I need to be in Gryffindor," Peter could not contain his panic. If he was sorted in the blue house, he would forever be last in everything. He seriously was not that intelligent and his self esteem did not need any more blows. Plus, he needed to be in the same house as James or he would probably not make another friend ever again.

 _"Hmm... I see how it is._ He held his breath until the Hat screamed "GRYFFINDOR!" and he could not help himself from smiling. Loud cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table, where everyone was wearing red ties around their neck. He searched the crowd for James and felt immense pride when the boy held his thumbs up and cheered for him. 

He made his way to the table, where a funny looking guy named Frank Longbottom, apparently the prefect, welcomed him with a friendly pet on the back. Then he sat between two other first years, a girl with dark red hair and a boy around his height with sharp regal features. They seemed like they were fighting, or at least like the boy had said something she did not like, because by breaking them up when he sat, the guy turned around with a grateful smirk. Now, how could a smirk appear grateful, Peter was not sure.

"I am Sirius," he introduced himself and Peter almost didn't hear him over the noice the Hufflepuffs made.

"Uh, Peter Pettigrew. Nice to meet you." He was slightly nervous but he hoped that it was not that apparent. However, when Sirius chuckled, Peter thought he was like a dog - he could smell the fear.

"Relax, Pete. I'm not biting," he said teasingly. "It's nice to see that at least someone around here has manners." He said the last part a little louder, obviously directed at the girl next to Peter, but she fortunately did not take the bait. "You don't mind me calling you Pete, right Pete?"

"Sure..."

"Should have thought about it myself," he heard a voice and when he turned around, he saw James making his way to them. He felt really guilty that he did not pay attention to his sorting, but also incredibly happy that they would be in the same house. James squeezed his shoulder and looking at Peter, he said, "Told you we'd be together."

Sirius made some space for him to sit with them and he had no shame to scoot over another kid next to them. "You're a Potter huh?" he asked, looking fascinated.

"And you're a Black. In Gryffindor?" Peter was not sure how they knew each other and did not want to interrupt to ask, so he mentally kept a note to ask someone later.

There seemed to be some tension for at least two seconds before the Black chuckled. "Oh, Merlin, this is going to be _fun_."


	3. Remus Lupin & His Scars

Peter considered himself very lucky to be in the same dorm as the only two people he knew in the entire school. James and Sirius almost immediately got over whatever difference they had. He still hadn't figured out what, but he suspected it had something to do with the second's snobbish family. They had met one of his older cousins, Narcissa, while they were heading to the Common Room. She was very elegant, almost looked like a princess and if it wasn't for her scary cold face he could even get a crush on her. She demanded that she would have a talk with Sirius and by the look of his face, Peter assumed he was in big trouble. James later explained it to him: the Blacks were a blood purist ancient family full of Slytherins and getting sorted in Gryffindor was not a good look.

Luckily, Sirius didn't seem like that kind of person. He did seem royal, but at the same time he was friendly to Peter after he told him he was a half-blood. "Look, I seriously don't care. You don't need to worry about that," he had said to him privately and since he didn't know how to answer, he just nodded.

"Aren't there supposed to be four of us?" James asked, while he was taking some of his clothes out of his baggages.

"Yeah," they heard a new voice. "My name is Remus."

He awkwardly stood in front of the door, like he was half expecting them to kick him out. He was also tall- for Merlin's sake, Peter thought. He was skinny, way too skinny actually and he had a big scar across his face that seemed to get everyone's attention. Peter could not stop staring at it, even though he knew he was being rude. He wasn't doing it on purpose of course - he was just wondering how something like that could happen to a eleven year old. 

"Oh, hello," James cheerfully grinned at him. You could count on him to save an uncomfortable situation. "I'm James and these are Sirius-" Sirius nodded at him "-and Peter." He waved, hoping he seemed friendly enough to make up for the fact that he earlier was too focused on his scars.

Remus finally got himself inside after muttering a "Nice to meet you all". Peter, having nothing to do since he had already tidied everything up, just stood in his bed and looked around their new home. It seemed comfortable enough, even if he had to share it with three other boys. He hoped they were clean, because when his room was a mess he was always stressed.

"So," James initiated a conversation as usual, "does any of you play Quidditch?" 

Sirius almost threw himself off his bed from excitement. "Yes, of course! What position do you play? Wait- let me guess." He scratched his chin theatrically. "Chaser?"

The ten minutes they had spent like that seemed like a decade to Peter who, while he enjoyed the sport, had never actually played before since he was scared of heights. James and Sirius seemed to have bonded very quickly - he knew it was stupid, but he felt a little jealous. He was James' first friend after all.

He scooted over to Remus, who was still trying to tidy his clothes. "Need help?" he offered.

"You have no idea what they're talking about either, huh?" Remus chuckled. "Honestly, I never liked Quidditch."

"Well, I do but they have kicked it off and I don't want to interrupt the start of a wonderful friendship," he answered, half sarcastically.

He helped him unpack, while making casual conversation about Hogwarts. Peter never thought he'd be good at small talk, but he realised Remus was easy to talk to. He didn't feel the need to impress him like he felt with the other two. The topic of the boy's scars circled around his mind and could barely hold himself before spitting a casual "So how did you get these scars?"

The room suddenly got silent and his question was heard by everyone. Remus looked stressed, but his eyes seemed tired, like he had momentarily forgotten about them and he was violently brought back to reality. James glared at Peter - and yes, he did realise that was not something he should have asked but he didn't do it on purpose to be rude. He was just asking something that everyone was curious about. Felt his face getting redder and redder. 

"Peter..." he heard James' disapproving voice, which reminded him of his mother.

"No, it's fine," Remus said and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I, uh, got it when I was young. From a stray dog."

Sirius seemed to suddenly be very interested in Peter and Remus' conversation. "Well I think they look very badass," he reassured Remus with a small comforting smile. 

There was no way that was from a dog, Peter thought. It was deep and since he used to have a pet, he knew exactly how scars from dogs scratcing you seemed like, but he didn't want to push him further. He suddenly became very aware that asking him that was similar to someone asking Peter why he was so chubby. 

"They do, to be honest," he agreed with Sirius, hoping that somehow made it better. Remus didn't thank them or even smiled, he just nodded and seemed eternally grateful when James started talking about Quidditch again, changing the subject. "They- They really do," Peter muttered again, not sure if the tall lanky Gryffindor even heard him as he left the room, saying he wanted to eat something.

"Good job Pete."

"Lay off him, Sirius," James told the black haired boy, but he still turned around to look at Peter. "You should apologise, you know. We're going to be living together for seven whole years. We need to be a team."

And Peter could not stop thinking about that all night.


End file.
